Giant Geomagnetic Storm Cracks Earth’s Magnetic Shield

A Giant Geomagnetic Storm Has Cracked

Earth’s Magnetic Shield

One of the reasons that Earth is such a habitable planet is the vast magnetic field that surrounds it which protect the surface from harsh solar winds and toxic cosmic radiation. For a long time, it has been thought that the magnetic field was a fail safe, protective barrier. However, according to new research it might not be as impenetrable as was once assumed.

A team of scientists based in Ooty in India has been researching geomagnetic storms, with a particular focus on a massive burst of galactic cosmic rays traveling at close to the speed of light which bombarded the Earth on the 22nd June 2015. These cosmic rays were caused by a giant ejection of plasma from the outer atmosphere of the Sun and were described as being so powerful that they were capable of puncturing the hull of a spacecraft.